Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip Bread Copycat Recipe

Why I Like This Recipe

• Flavorful. Every bite is loaded with a burst of cinnamon. The cinnamon chips that I use for this bread are different than Hershey's cinnamon baking chips. I've made cinnamon chip bread with Hershey's cinnamon chips; however, they don't melt the same way as the ones used by Great Harvest, leaving streaks of melted cinnamon chips (like melted chocolate chips) rather than pockets of cinnamon in every bite.
• Tried and true bread dough recipe. The base dough for this recipe is the same one that I use for making egg bread. Egg bread uses milk instead of water, butter instead of oil, and adds 3 eggs. The egg yolks give the bread a slightly yellow color and add moisture and richness. You can brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter or an egg wash right out of the oven. I like using melted butter because it adds great flavor. It is the perfect base for cinnamon bread!
• Makes two loaves at a time. If you are going to take the time and effort to make one loaf, you might as well make two. You can easily bake them together in the oven, so I included measurements for making two loaves.

What Others Are Saying

Thank you for sharing your recipe, Brandy. I just made this and it tasted really good 🙂---Blaz

Great Harvest closed its stores here several years ago and I have missed their Cinnamon Chip Bread a lot. So glad I found this recipe and recommendation for the Gygi Cinnamon Chips. The chips with postage are a bit pricey, but well worth the expense. I actually halved the recipe to make only one loaf to see if it was good since there were a couple other recipes online. I will look no further; this recipe is absolutely delicious and definitely a winner in my book! This bread makes the very best French Toast, too.---Janice

Tips and Tricks

• Best cinnamon chips. I wanted to find cinnamon chips that were closer to what Great Harvest uses, and I finally did! You can order bags of cinnamon chips (that are LEGIT) from Orson Gygi. The only catch is that shipping is ridiculous unless you spend $75. The cinnamon chips are a great price (cheaper than the brand sold on Amazon), so it's worth going in with a few friends and ordering a bunch of 5-pound bags. They sell other types of chocolate chips as well as baking supplies and home decor, so it's easy to meet the shipping quota. You can also use Hershey's cinnamon chips, but keep in mind that they won't be as close to a copycat version as Orson Gygi's cinnamon chips.
• Dough rising hack. Use a shower cap to cover your bowl. They come in a pack of 10 on Amazon or at Walmart for a couple of bucks and can be reused over and over!
• Room temperature rise. Normally, I recommend allowing bread dough to rise in a warm place, like an oven preheated for 60 seconds, but for this recipe, the best place is the counter at room temperature. The cinnamon chips are teeny tiny, and we want to avoid them melting into the dough before baking. They'll soften as the dough rises, and that's ok, but it's easier to shape the loaves if they aren't melted and smearing onto your workspace. The goal is for the chips to melt in the oven, not during the rise.
• Allow bread to cool completely. Nothing beats a warm slice of homemade bread, but the loaf is much easier to slice when it is cool.

Ingredients

• Milk: You can use milk or water. Milk adds flavor, richness, and texture to bread, giving it a golden crust and a tender crumb, but the bread is delicious when made with water as well. If using milk, follow the recipe as directed. If using water, use warm tap water and melted butter.
• Butter: I prefer butter to any other fat for most baked goods, as it adds richness and flavor. However, oil can also be used.
• Sugar: Great Harvest uses honey in its bread. If you'd like to use honey instead of sugar, you can absolutely do that. Use 2-3 tablespoons of honey instead of the ¼ cup of sugar that is called for in my recipe.
• Flour: Both all-purpose flour and bread flour work well. I do not have a preference between the two. You'll need 6 ½ cups to 7 ½ cups of flour. The dough is soft and slightly sticky, but you should be able to work with it easily. Start with 6 ½ cups of flour and add more if necessary.
• Yeast: Use either dry active yeast or instant yeast, both of which work well.
• Salt
• Eggs: The eggs are what really set these loaves apart from other white bread recipes. Eggs give richness to the bread and a beautiful yellow color.
• Butter: I like brushing the hot loaves with butter when they come out of the oven. It gives them a shiny crust and delicious flavor.
• Cinnamon chips: See my notes in the Tips and Tricks section for the best cinnamon chips to use.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Copycat Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip Bread

Step 1: Microwave milk, sugar, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl (or heat over the stove) until the butter begins to melt. This should take around 90 seconds. Stir. The milk should be around 115-120 degrees (if it is hotter, it will need to cool before use). Note: If using water, use warm tap water and melted butter. No need to heat the water on the stove.

Step 2: In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Add eggs and mix well. Add the remaining flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Mix in cinnamon chips. The dough is soft and slightly sticky, but you should be able to work with it easily. Start with 6 ½ cups of flour and add more if necessary.

Step 3. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with a damp cloth or plastic. Let rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes.

Step 4: Punch the dough down and divide it into 2 portions. Shape each portion into a round loaf and place in greased pie pans (pie plates). Let rise for 30 minutes.

Note: You can bake round loaves in a pie pan or regular loaves in bread pans. Baking time and temp are the same.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the loaves for 30 minutes.

Step 6: Allow bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Storage: Allow bread to cool completely, then wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container to keep fresh for up to 3 days.

Cinnamon Chip Bread FAQs

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